The Pakistan vs England Cricket World Cup game will be one heck of a contest, with Pakistan trying their best to qualify in the next round of the 2023 World Cup. The Eden Gardens ground in Kolkata will host the game on Saturday (November 11), where there will be a lot of support for both sides.
England has already been eliminated from the tournament, but they can spoil the other team's party.
Both teams have performed below their real potential and reputation. England has been the worst in that case, having lost six games from seven matches, and their only triumph came against Bangladesh.
Pakistan did not have the best of tournaments either, having won four matches from their eight games, but most of their victories came against low-ranked teams.
They failed against top-tier teams like India and Australia, and this match holds a lot of Importance for them for next stage qualification
The Men in Green had a brilliant game against the Kiwis where they managed to get over the line even after conceding 400 runs on board; that victory would give them serious confidence.
Pakistan vs England Head to Head History
Pakistan and England have a rich history in ODI cricket, as they have played a lot of cricket together.
The two World Cup Champion sides have locked horns 91 times in this beautiful format, and England got themselves at winning 56 times, whereas Pakistan won on 32 occasions.
In world cups, the story is different as Pakistan has a slight edge over the British. In the 10 mega event games, Pak won six times compared to their opponent, who won five times and once the match ended without a result.
It indicates that Pakistan has absorbed the pressure of the mega event slightly better and would like to keep going this way.
They got the better of them in the memorable semi-final of CT 2017 too , which they eventually won against India.
Probable Man of the Match Award Winner
Players you should know about for Pakistan vs England game:
Fakhar Zaman
Fakhar Zaman has all the limelight in the World Cup right now as he stunned so many people with his awe-inspiring match-winning knock of 126 of 81 balls. He smashed everyone all over the park in that inning.
The dashing left-hander is a run-away match-winner on his day and can be critical in Pakistan's success at Eden Gardens.
He has already hit 18 sixes in only three innings, which is so stunning and admirable.
He hit 11 sixes in that knock and since he made a comeback in the competition against Bangladesh, the guy did not look back.
There has been a lot of criticism of the Pakistan team management for benching him for the major part of this World Cup despite him being a match-winner and an impactful player.
Babar Azam
Babar Azam is the most followed and renowned worldwide cricketer from Pakistan. It is only because of his impeccable consistency in the last 5 -6 years in all formats.
He came into this World Cup with an enormous reputation but somehow did not manage to lift up to those expectations.
He piled up 282 runs in this World Cup so far, but most of his runs seemed too patchy as they did not help the team's cause.
Pakistani fans want him to play that assertive, dominant innings, and this could be the ideal chance for him to perform in a do-or-die game.
The Pakistan skipper is known for his flawless technique, and his last game against New Zealand, where he stood with Fakhar Zaman, scoring 66 unbeaten runs, would give him loads of confidence.
Shaheen Afridi
Shaheen Shah Afridi is the left-arm quick from Pakistan who has been the spearhead of their fast bowling in the last 2-3 years.
The tall left-armer is so effective with the new ball that he has set a very intimidating reputation worldwide.
A few days back, he became the quickest to get 100 ODI wickets in only 51 matches, which is truly scintillating.
Whenever he does well for Pakistan with the new ball, more often than not, the Men in Green ends up on the winning side.
In this competition, Shaheen is not at his absolute best, as he did not take a lot of wickets early on and is one of the reasons Pakistan is lagging behind in the points table.
The ace fast bowler has taken 16 wickets in the competition, and if he gets it right against England early on, it would put Pakistan in a very formidable position.
Adil Rashid
Adil Rashid could be amongst the only few rare positives for England in this mega event. The right-arm-leg spinner bowled extremely well in the competition.
The England batting has let them down completely throughout the tournament.
The 35-year-old leg spinner has taken 10 wickets thus far, and the way the wicket of Eden Garden played in the match of India vs South Africa, it wouldn't be surprising to see this lad dominating this match.
Pakistani batters, including their skipper, do not play leg spin very effectively. It was seen in the past that Babar Azam had troubles against the wrong ones, so that it will be an eye-catching contest.
Pakistan vs England Match Prediction
The second last match of the league stage between England and Pakistan will decide whether green shirts will make it to the semis or not.
England, in the entire tournament, played very below-average cricket, and they have a chance to bring their A-game back finally.
Pakistan is depending on some luck as well, as they need to beat the English side by a heavy margin in case New Zealand wins its last league match.
Men in Green might be ahead in the contest, as they are coming into this game after a morale-boosting victory, which would surely raise their confidence
.
The permutations still support that Pak will be more confident dominating this game, but England is a champion side that can never be taken for granted.